Major League Soccer has beenbroadcast live in the United States nationally since the league's inception in 1996 and in Canada since 2007.[1] As of the 2023 season,Apple Inc. is the primary global rights holder and streams every regular season and playoff match onMLS Season Pass – a service in theApple TV app. Some matches are also broadcast on television viaFox Sports in the United States, andBell Media (viaTSN andRDS) in Canada.[2]
Major League Soccer withESPN andABC Sports announced the league's first television rights deal on March 15, 1994, without any players, coaches, or teams in place. The three-year agreement covered English-language broadcasting for the 1996–1998 seasons, and committed 10 matches on ESPN, 25 onESPN2, and theMLS Cup onABC. The deal gave MLS no rights fees, but the advertising revenue was divided between the league and networks.[3]
During the 1990s,Univision andGalavisión broadcast matches inSpanish. The original Univision deal ended in 1999.[4]Telemundo picked up MLS in2000,[5] but disputes over time slots led to the network dropping MLS after the2001 season.[6] ABC and ESPN were left as the only MLS broadcasters in 2002.
In 2003, Fox Sports World (laterFox Soccer Channel) also became an English-language TV partner to MLS, whileFox Sports en Español became the Spanish-language partner in the same year.[7]
In August 2006, MLS and ESPN announced an eight-year contract spanning 2007–2014 giving the league its first rights-fee agreement worth US$8 million annually. The deal gave the MLS a regular primetime slot on Thursdays, televised coverage of the first round of theMLS SuperDraft and an expanded presence on other ESPN properties, such as ESPN360 (nowESPN3) and Mobile ESPN. The agreement also placed each season's opening match, theMLS All-Star Game and the MLS Cup on ABC.[8]
In September 2006, the media announced a deal between the Univision network andSoccer United Marketing (SUM) worth US$80 million. The network agreed to broadcast 25 MLS matches per season, ten U.S. men's national team matches and five international matches operated by SUM;[9] although, ratings were volatile.[10]
Disappointing ratings led to a 2008 push by ESPN to bolster its popularity through measures such as usingJP Dellacamera, a veteran play-by-play soccer commentator, instead of baseball announcerDave O'Brien, as well as an arrangement to simulcast MLS matches in Spanish onESPN Deportes, with the intention of gaining additional Hispanic viewers with a Spanish style. ESPN programming executive Scott Guglielmino explained: "From my perspective, the only question in my mind when it comes to growth is how quickly over time MLS and its management group want to spend on players ... You’re in a worldwide market. The question is how quickly the ownership group wants to push that envelope."[7]
After two years of low ratings, network executives decided to transfer all ABC matches to ESPN. TheMLS Cup had been broadcast on ABC each year from 1996 to 2008, but with ratings declining from 1.4, in 1996 and 1997, to 0.6 in 2008, the MLS Cup was moved to ESPN at the start of 2009.[11] The network also replaced the regular Thursday night telecast with a "game of the week" on either Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights, to give MLS matches better lead-in programming and more flexibility to air better matchups.[12]
In 2011, Fox Soccer Channel and MLS agreed to a one-year extension to televise up to 31 regular-season matches and three playoff game, in a deal worth around US$7 million.[13][14][15]MLS Wrap was a MLS highlight show that aired onFox Soccer Channel that was often hosted bySean Wheelock, with analystJohn Harkes.[16]
In 2012,NBC Sports Group replaced Fox Sports as the league's second English-language broadcaster, with matches airing onNBCSN (which was available in approximately twice as many homes as Fox Soccer), and selected matches on theNBC broadcast network. NBCSN broadcast 44 matches and NBC broadcast 5 matches—the average combined audience for NBC and NBCSN's matches in 2012 was 122 percent higher than the average audience for Fox Soccer's matches in 2011.[17] ESPN ratings also increased in 2012 from the prior year, as a number of MLS matches were shown on ESPN in 2012, instead of a primary focus on ESPN2, as had been the case previously.[18]
On May 12, 2014, MLS announced an eight-year broadcasting deal between ESPN and Fox Sports in English, and Univision in Spanish, covering television, digital, and the possibility of radio rights. The biggest change under the new deal was the establishment of a consistent national window for each broadcaster;UniMas airs matches on Friday nights, while ESPN2 andFox Sports 1 air matches on Sunday evenings and nights respectively (jointly promoted asSoccer Sunday). All three broadcasters will air at least 34 regular-season matches per-season during these windows. ESPN and Fox Sports will also share in English-language coverage of the playoffs, and alternate airing the All-Star Game and MLS Cup yearly. Univision will air Spanish-language coverage of the MLS Cup and All-Star Game, and exclusively air two playoff knockout-round matches per season. Matches exclusively televised by Univision include English-language commentary viasecond audio program. The deal also includes options for national radio rights forESPN Radio andFox Sports Radio, rights toUnited States men's national team matches for all three broadcasters, rights forESPN International, and an option for ESPN to take over the distribution of the league's out-of-market package.[19][20]
ESPN and Fox Sports pay a combined $75 million per season, and Univision pays $15 million per-season. In Canada TSN and TVA pay a combined $15m per season. Totaling at around $105 million per-season, nearly five times the value of the league's previous deal, it is the highest-valued television rights deal in MLS history.[21] Commissioner Garber stated at the announcement that the new contracts were "another strong indicator of the League's continued growth and the overall fan interest in our sport".[19][20]
In March 2017, it was announced thatFacebook had reached a deal to stream English-language coverage of the nationally televised matches allotted to Univision. The streams would include interactive features, while MLS also announced that it would stream a news program known asMatchday Live on its Facebook page to complement the new deal.[22]
Prior to the 2018 season, ESPN invoked its option to take over the out-of-market streaming rights to Major League Soccer. The MLS Live service was discontinued, and out-of-market matches became an overall component of the newESPN+ subscription streaming service that launched in April 2018 (with MLS Live temporarily made available for free prior to the service's official launch).[23][24]Twitter replaced Facebook as the English streaming rightsholder for Univision's matches under a three-year deal.[25]
The 2018 season also saw significant developments in regional broadcast rights, asChicago Fire and newly establishedLos Angeles FC chose to sell their regional television rights exclusively to subscription streaming services (the aforementioned ESPN+, andYouTube TV, respectively), rather than a local broadcaster or regional sports network. Several teams (includingReal Salt Lake and theSeattle Sounders FC) also reached in-market streaming deals alongside a flagship television broadcaster.[26] In 2019,D.C. United similarly signed withFloSports (replacingSinclair Broadcast Group), however the partnership was met with criticism over the more-limited availability of the broadcasts, as well as promised supplemental coverage that never materialized. The team broke away from FloSports prior to the final game of the season,[27][28] and re-signed Sinclair for the 2020 season.[29] Also in 2020, Chicago Fire FC returned to regional linear television with a multi-year deal withWGN-TV, concurrent with the final year of its agreement with ESPN+.[30]
MLS requested that its teams not negotiate regional television rights beyond the 2022 season, suggesting that the league was considering switching to a centralized model for its broadcast rights (more akin to the NFL and European club leagues).[31][32]
MLS is operating on a 10-year broadcasting deal withApple Inc. that began the 2023 season, under which the company holds the global over-the-top streaming rights to all MLS andLeagues Cup matches, and selectedMLS Next andMLS Next Pro matches.[33] They stream on theMLS Season Pass subscription service, which is offered through theApple TV app.[34] Season Pass is a separate offering from Apple's main streaming serviceApple TV+, but a package of MLS and Leagues Cup matches would stream for Apple TV+ subscribers, and a subset of these matches (potentially over 40%)[35] could be available for free.[33] Season ticket holders for MLS teams also receive free access to the service. The acquisition is Apple's second major foray into sports broadcast rights, after having acquired a package ofFriday-night Major League Baseball games for Apple TV+ in 2022.[36][37]
Under the deal, MLS assumed the production of all match telecasts, as part of a partnership withIMG andNEP Group.[38][39] Teams will no longer be allowed to sell regional broadcast rights to live matches (although the contract provides the option for teams to sub-license tape delayed broadcasts of matches on a regional basis, provided they are broadcast on at least a 48-hour delay),[40] and no match will be subject toblackouts. Commentary will be available in English and Spanish, as well as French for matches involving Canadian teams. The majority of matches will be played on Wednesday and Saturday nights, with scheduled kickoffs primarily occurring at 7:30 p.m. local time.[35]
A sub-licensing agreement was reached with Fox Sports, under which it would air 34 matches in the regular season, eight in the postseason, and each MLS Cup until 2026 on Fox, FS1, and Fox Deportes.[41] ESPN and Univision will no longer be involved in the televising of MLS matches, with ESPN severing ties after being the primary partner for the league's entire history and Univision having done so in the 1990s and from 2007 to 2022. Univision, however, will televise selectLeagues Cup matches, including exclusive linear coverage of the final.[42] Both ESPN and Univision are believed to have left negotiations due to conflicts over the Apple contract; in addition to both companies operating streaming platforms of their own (ESPN+ andVix respectively), Jonathan Tannenwald ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer reported that ESPN disagreed with Apple putting the games which would have been part of an ESPN sublicense deal outside of the MLS Season Pass paywall, while Josh Sim of SportsPro Media speculated that Univision disapproved of Apple presenting Spanish-language coverage of MLS games.[43][44][45]
In 2025, some changes began to emerge in broadcasting arrangements. That year, MLS expanded availability of MLS Season Pass beyond Apple platforms by announcing carriage deals withComcast andDirecTV.[46]Charlotte FC became the first MLS team to invoke an allowance for teams to sub-license tape delayed broadcasts of matches to broadcasters, with the team partnering withWAXN-TV (airing them inlate-night time slots).FC Dallas later reached a similar agreement withKDFI, airing them on Tuesday nights asFC Dallas Rewind.[40][47]
Late in 2025, it was reported that Apple had amended its current MLS contract to end after the 2028–29 season. Under the new terms, Apple will increase its rights payments over the remaining seasons, paying around $50 million more through 2029 than it would have under the original terms.[48]
Coverage of MLS expanded into Canada in 2007 with the addition of Toronto FC. From 2007 to 2010,CBC,Sportsnet, and laterGolTV Canada (owned by team parent companyMaple Leaf Sports & Entertainment), broadcast Toronto FC matches nationwide, and GolTV carried broadcasts of selected regular-season matches not involving Toronto FC.
Bell Media has held national English-language rights to Major League Soccer in Canada since 2011, and reached a 5-year extension for English-language rights only beginning in the 2017 season. Matches primarily air on theTSN networks, and beginning in 2017, selected matches are simulcast on the terrestrialCTV network.[49] As of the 2017 season,TVA Sports holds the national French-language rights to Major League Soccer in Canada.[50]
As in the United States, the individual Canadian clubs have also negotiated separate broadcast deals for matches not aired under the Bell Media national contract (although there are noblackouts of these "regional" broadcasts outside of the team's territory). TSN andSportsnet formerly split coverage of Toronto FC regional matches (their parent companies hold a joint majority stake in MLSE), TVA Sports airs Montreal Impact matches in a separate deal,[51] and TSN broadcasts the Vancouver Whitecaps in a separate deal.[52][53] In the 2017 season, Sportsnet discontinued its TFC coverage, and its matches moved exclusively to TSN.[49]
In the 2018 season,DAZN took over rights to out-of-market streaming of matches as part of its overall service, with live and on-demand coverage of all-U.S., matches, and on-demand streaming of matches featuring Canadian clubs 48 hours after their original broadcast.[54]
Canadian television rights were included in the global rights deal between MLS and Apple Inc. that began with the 2023 season. All games involving Canadian teams will feature French language commentary, in addition to commentary feeds in English and Spanish.[35] The league will simulcast some games on traditional linear television networks such as TSN and RDS.[34]
| Network | Current contract | Annual rights fee | Regular season games | Playoff games | Language | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLS Season Pass | 2023–2032 | $250 million | All matches | All matches | English, Spanish, French | [33] |
| Network | Current contract | Annual rights fee | Regular season games | Playoff games | Language | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox/FS1 | 2023–2026 | TBA | 34[a] | 8 | English | [55] |
| Fox Deportes | 2023–2026 | TBA | 34 | 8 | Spanish | [55] |
| Network | Current contract | Annual rights fee | Regular season games | Playoff games | Language | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSN | 2023–2026 | TBA | ~68[a] | 8 | English | [55][56] |
| RDS | 2023–2026 | TBA | ~68[a] | 8 | French | [55] |
| Year | English language | Spanish language | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Telecasts | Viewers (Ratings) | Channel | Telecasts | Viewers (Ratings) | |
| 2006[58] | ESPN2 | 21 | 263,000 (0.2) | |||
| Fox Soccer | ||||||
| 2007[58][59] | ESPN2 | 25 | 289,000 (0.2) | TeleFutura | 24 | 282,000 |
| Fox Soccer | ||||||
| 2008[59][60] | ESPN2 | 26 | 253,000 (0.2) | TeleFutura | 26 | 254,000 |
| Fox Soccer* | 30,000 (0.1) | |||||
| 2009[59][61] | ESPN2 | 26 | 299,000 | TeleFutura | 24 | 229,000 |
| Fox Soccer | 34 | 53,000 | ||||
| 2010[59][62] | ESPN2 | 25 | 253,000 | TeleFutura | 23 | 211,000 |
| Fox Soccer | 31 | 53,000 | ||||
| 2011[59][61] | ESPN2 | 20 | 290,000 | Galavisión | 18 | 72,000 |
| Fox Soccer | 27 | 70,000 | TeleFutura | 12 | 233,000 | |
| 2012[59][63] | ESPN / ESPN2 | 20 | 311,000 | Galavisión | 20 | 57,000 |
| NBCSN | 40 | 125,000 | ||||
| 2013[59][64] | ESPN / ESPN2 | 20 | 220,000 (0.1) | UniMás | 23 | 223,000 |
| NBCSN | 37 | 112,000 (0.1) | ||||
| 2014[59][65] | ESPN2 | 20 | 240,000 (0.2) | UniMás | 23 | 218,000 |
| NBCSN | 38 | 142,000 (0.1) | ||||
| 2015[59][66] | ESPN (8) / ESPN2 (26) | 34 | 245,000 | UniMás/UDN | 42 | 244,000 |
| FS1 | 34 | 197,000 | ||||
| 2016 [67][68][69][70][71] | ESPN (29) / ESPN2 (5) | 34 | 274,000 | UniMás/UDN | 34+ | 245,000 |
| Fox (5) / FS1 (29) | 34 | 224,000 | ||||
| Fox | 5 | 696,000 | ||||
| 2017[72][70][71] | ESPN(26) / ESPN2(3) | 29 | 272,000 | UniMás(18) / UDN (6) | 24 | 265,000 |
| Fox (7) / FS1 (27) | 34 | 236,000 | ||||
| Fox | 7 | 644,000 | ||||
| 2018[73][74][75] | ESPN(28) / ESPN2(3) | 31 | 241,000 | Univision(13)UniMás/UDN (12) | 25 | 292,000 |
| Fox (6) / FS1 (27) | 33 | 296,000 | ||||
| Fox | 6 | 988,000 | ||||
Notes:
| Season | Avg. viewers | Change | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 164,000 | — | [59][63] |
| 2013 | 185,000 | +13% | [59][64] |
| 2014 | 200,000 | +8% | [59][65] |
| 2015 | 229,000 | +15% | [59][66] |
| 2016 | 248,000 | +8% | [67][68][69][70][71] |
| 2017 | 258,000 | +4% | [70][71][72] |
| 2018 | 276,000 | +6% | [74][73][75] |
| 2019 | 268,000 | −3% | [76][78][79] |
| 2020 | 257,000 | −4% | [77] |
| 2021 | 285,000 | +11% | [80][81] |
Notes:
1996–2008[11]
| 2009–2022
| 2023–present
|
| No. | Viewers | Date | Network | Matchup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,894,000 | November 25, 2021 | FOX | Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids[94] |
| 2 | 1,609,000 | July 7, 2019 | FOX | Atlanta United vs New York Red Bulls[95] |
| 3 | 1,558,000 | July 15, 2018 | FOX | Atlanta United vs Seattle Sounders FC[96] |
| 4 | 1,159,000 | June 30, 2018 | FOX | Seattle Sounders FC vs Portland Timbers[97] |
| 5 | 1,109,000 | July 1, 2018 | FOX | Toronto FC vs New York Red Bulls[97] |
| Eastern Conference | |
|---|---|
| Western Conference | |
| Former teams |
|
| Personnel | |
| Competition | |
| Associated competitions | |
| Other | |
